The Office for Students can’t say how it will assess level 6 and 7 apprenticeships delivered at non-registered HE providers, even though it’s meant to start the work imminently.

As revealed by FE Week on Friday, the government has opted to give the job to the higher education regulator despite the Augar Review recommending it should be Ofsted.

In a letter published on Monday, education secretary Damian Hinds said he was “pleased” the OfS has “developed an approach to the quality assessment of level 6+ apprenticeships delivered by non-registered providers and that this will be implemented during this academic year”.

“This should result in a robust regime that measures high quality on and off-the-job training and tackles poor performance,” he added.

We will review the success of this approach later in the year

“You should work closely with Ofsted on this approach given their responsibilities for assurance of other apprenticeship provision and their experience in this area.”

FE Week asked the OfS for details of the assessment “approach” it has developed, such as whether it would be similar to Ofsted inspections, but it could not provide details.

A spokesperson could only say: “This only affects a small number of providers that offer higher-level apprenticeships that don’t contain either a full bachelor’s or master’s degree.

“We have committed to starting the first reviews over the summer and will focus on the largest providers first, ensuring that the maximum number of apprentices are captured. We will continue to work closely with Ofsted to benefit from their expertise in inspecting apprenticeship provision.”

Hinds’ letter said the outcomes of the OfS’ quality assessment reviews should be “transparent” and enable apprentices, employers and the DfE to identify where providers are not delivering high quality training.

“This will allow the department to take appropriate action where poor quality training is being delivered,” he added.

The DfE and OfS will review the approach later in the year to “make sure it is effective”.

FE Week was first to reveal in November that firms offering higher level apprenticeships without a prescribed HE qualification, such as a degree, had nobody checking their quality of delivery if they weren’t on the OfS’ register of higher education providers. Ofsted’s remit only extends to level 5.

Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman expressed her deep concern at the issue during an interview with FE Week in March, where she said: “I very much hope people will see the logic in us doing it.”

The OfS’ approach to regulating apprenticeship quality at providers on its register is very different to Ofsted’s.

The higher education watchdog employs a “risk-based approach to quality assurance defined by a high-quality threshold for entry and regulates all provision at all providers on the OfS Register,” a spokesperson previously told FE Week.

“Providers who are accepted on to the register will have met a high threshold for quality and standards and will be monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure that quality is maintained.”

The Quality Assurance Agency then conducts external annual provider reviews of HE institutions for the OfS, including those that deliver apprenticeships.

But these are not official inspections of the type Ofsted conducts. They do not result in, for example, inspection reports with grades.

The new University and College Union boss has backed herself to successfully lead the organisation despite never having run an organisation before, saying “there is more than one way to be a general secretary”.

Dr Jo Grady, a former student at Wakefield College, was announced as the new leader of the UCU last month, having been elected with 64 per cent of the vote on a record turnout of 20 per cent.

She defeated the UCU head of policy and campaigns Matt Waddup and the president of the University of Liverpool UCU branch Jo McNeil to the job, which came with a salary of £107,448 in 2018.

Grady will be taking a leave of absence from her role as a senior lecturer in employment relations at the University of Sheffield once she becomes general secretary in the
summer.

Her background sets her apart from the previous UCU leader, Sally Hunt, who retired due to ill health in February after having served as a general secretary since 2002, firstly of the Association of University Teaching, then of its successor organisation, the UCU.

Grady, meanwhile, has a less prominent track record, having served on the union’s national disputes committee for the universities pension scheme, and as a co-branch secretary for Leicester UCU and as pensions officer for the Sheffield branch.

However, she insisted she is not disconcerted by becoming general secretary of the union that has around 200 staff and 120,000 members, saying: “Yes, it’s a responsibility and a privilege to become general secretary, but I’m not daunted because I think I have been elected with a big mandate and increased turnout by members who are eager for change.”

On what qualifies her for the role, Grady said she had been on the frontline of delivering education, and to reach her current position she had to gain experience of managing budgets and people, and negotiating changing structures.

All of this has helped her develop the skills of diplomacy, organisation and communication that are “essential” for a general secretary.

“The general secretary is more than just a manager of a large organisation, they are the head of the union and I think that’s an important and serious political role,” she said.

Grady, 35, who has been described as the grassroots candidate, said she was “comfortable” working with the community of politicians and government departments, as well as university and college management.

Asked how her leadership approach would differ from Hunt’s, Grady said she wanted to break down silos and bring in a more “inclusive” way of doing things.

The general secretary is an important and serious political role

A lot of members had felt “dislocated” from the decisions the UCU had made, she said, and it had been “really difficult to feed into what the union is doing”.

When she successfully ran for the national committee, members had thanked her for explaining what the national committee does for them.

Until you become a general secretary, you do not have the experience of being a general secretary,” but “there is more than one way to do that job, and ways to make sure you do see your membership a lot and speak for your membership a lot.”

She wants to bring in the experiences of “sidelined” members, such as those who work as casual staff, by making the union more inclusive and transparent, through publishing
minutes from the national executive committee and setting up task groups on issues such as the hostile environment and migrant members.

Her specific priorities for the further education sector include trying to get more funding to spend on classroom teaching, rather than on new buildings, and tackling everyday racism in colleges. She said the latter could be seen in the case of Dave Muritu, who was suspended as a lecturer at Sandwell College after writing the word “Racist” on a poster  or the Prevent strategy.

Grady said if he had been dismissed after apologising for defacing the poster it was difficult to see the college’s decision as anything other than “victimisation of a trade union officer”.

She is hoping to meet Muritu at a demonstration outside the college this week, after members threatened to strike if he was not reinstated.

Tapping into that belief in solidarity among union members was something Grady said was part of the secret of her success.

“When you directly campaign with and to people, when you are honest about what you are asking them to do… that involves raising expectations of what we can achieve and not just accepting the managed decline of our sector, people respond to that.

“It’s a really exciting time for the union and there’s no reason to be daunted. I think this election really shows everyone is pulling together,” she concluded.

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What Jo Grady’s manifesto promised to do for FE

• Subscription reform – Grady wants to introduce special rates for workers who do not have a fixed monthly income and consider ways to make membership more affordable for people who work in further education, to rebuild its membership in that area.
• Capping her own salary increases – Grady has promised to ensure her salary does not increase any higher than the most recent national pay offer in further education.
• Fighting fund – Grady has promised to donate a portion of her salary to the fighting fund, which is used to support members through strike pay, for example. She will also publish the amount she has donated.
• Hostile environment – Grady has pledged to set up a dedicated task group to look into surveillance and security issues at colleges and universities; this is in response to initiatives such as the “right to work” checks on non-EU staff and students.
• Grady will appoint national “branch coordination” officers for anti-casualisation, to tackle insecure employment.
• She also wants to weight pay claims more progressively, in favour of the lowest-paid staff.
• Grady wants to create positions for specialist, full-time equality casework officials.
• She believes the national bargaining frameworks should be expanded to include issues such as sexual harassment and transgender rights, and maternity and paternity rights.

Eight leading figures from the further education sector have been recognised in the Queen’s birthday honours.

These include five OBEs, one CBE, an MBE, and a British Empire Medal – but no knighthoods or damehoods.

One of this year’s recipients, Milton Keynes College principal Dr Julie Mills, said it was “great FE is being recognised in this way,” in an era when the post-18 education Augar Review has shown the impact FE makes.

Mills is being awarded an OBE for services to promoting business and education links, which she called “brilliant”.

“That’s absolutely what we do and that’s certainly something I’ve worked really hard on across the whole college,” she explained.

Milton Keynes College is one of 12 providers which were announced by the DfE in April to have been picked to open an Institute of Technology, which are intended to bring FE and HE together with employers to specialise in delivering higher level technical training at level four and five in STEM subjects.

The grade two college also runs employment academies as part of its programme of prisoner education – the college has worked with offenders inside and outside prison walls for 27 years, and Mills herself has worked on the programme in the past.

She described the college’s relationship with employers as: “Not just about consulting employers, but getting them in and part of the student’s experience.”

A former Barnfield College learner, Mills originally started working for Milton Keynes College in 1990 and has been principal and chief executive since 2011.

FE Week Annual Apprenticeship Awards judge Anna Morrison is being awarded a CBE for services to apprenticeships.

Her company, Amazing Apprenticeships, works to inform schools and students about the apprenticeships system, through the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge for Schools and Colleges programme.

The chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, Mark Dawe, said Anna’s “tireless work” has been a major factor in getting more schools to take their obligations about offering impartial careers guidance more seriously.

After starting her FE career as a receptionist at North Herts College 20 years ago, Anna said: “It’s incredible and so amazing for us.

“I’m so proud of everything I’ve been able to achieve and it adds so much credibility to our work with schools and parents, going forward.”

The principal of the ‘outstanding’ rated Redbridge Institute, Joni Cunningham, has also been awarded an OBE for services to adult community learning in London and Essex.

She said it was a “privilege” to work in the FE sector, where she has fulfilled a number of roles at colleges such as Harlow, as well as at the Norfolk Education Authority.

On her current work in adult community learning, she said: “I’m proud of our whole service and staff and learners and what we have achieved together.

It’s great FE is being recognised in this way

“It’s a public recognition of the vital work we do in adult education, supporting some of the most disadvantaged learners in our community, helping them to achieve their potential and succeed in their lives.”

The chair of the Electrotechnical Trailblazer Apprenticeship Development Group, David Barlow, is also set to receive an MBE for services to apprenticeships and business.

In addition to his trailblazer work, he helps promote apprenticeships in Warrington and Cheshire.

He said the honour was a “tremendous privilege” after initially getting in to the FE sector when he hired more apprentices to grow his business, Barlows Electrical.

“It’s great to see young people given a chance,” said Barlow, who also works with the University of Chester on its higher apprenticeships programme.

Also recognised in the Birthday Honours List is the former deputy chair of WorldSkills UK, Pablo Lloyd, who is receiving an OBE for services to that organisation.

The CEO of World Skills, OBE winner Dr Neil Bentley-Gockmann said the award recognises “the outstanding leadership contribution Pablo has made to our organisation over many years”.

The chair of the Bell Group, George Bell, is also set to receive an OBE for services to apprenticeships and charity fundraising.

The list also includes an OBE for Vickie Mottram, the head of apprenticeships for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

Mary Chapman is being given a British Empire Medal, for services to adult education in Rochester and Medway, after teaching ceramics to adult learners over 40 years, but originally thought someone was playing a joke on her when she received the letter.

“My job is my passion and I can’t quite believe that I’ve been given this honour for doing it,” she said.

No-one has been knighted or made a dame for services to further education since Dr David Collins, the late former FE Commissioner, in the 2015 New Year’s Honours List.

A union has demanded college staff be trained in how to deal with weapons-related incidents, after workers from campuses across the country reported instances of violent gang attacks, stabbings, and guns being recovered.

Unison surveyed 845 support staff at FE and sixth form colleges, including canteen workers, learning support assistants and librarians, who reported how machetes, iron bars and hammers had either been found on students or used in pupil-on-pupil assaults, or in violent incidents against staff.

In one instance, hammer-wielding gang members chased a 17-year-old student through a college, and two support staff members had to shield him from his assailants until security and police arrived.

Another respondent said a student had died outside college after being stabbed, and another reported armed police had been called to campus after a student brought in a gun.

One in five respondents said they did not feel safe at work, and 90 per cent said they had received no training in dealing with teenagers who bring weapons into college.

Almost a quarter of respondents, 23 per cent, said they felt weapon-related crime was a problem where they work.

Unison’s head of education Jon Richards has called for colleges to provide “proper training” for weapons found on campus, for every member of staff.

“At the very least, we want all staff to have awareness and avoidance training,” Richards said. “Security staff will need more specific training.”

He added: “Employers must ensure offensive weapons are built into risk assessment and health and safety planning. They need to make clear to students and regularly remind them they should not have weapons.

“It’s essential colleges have transparent exclusion policies and staff have to be fully supported when any incident occurs.”

Richards said a joined-up response from police, youth support services and colleges is the “only way to turn youngsters away from crime”.

Last year, knife crime in England and Wales reached its highest level in eight years, with over 40,000 offences involving a knife or sharp blade in 2017/18, compared to 32,700 in 2010/11; according to a House of Commons briefing.

The Association of College’s senior policy manager Eddie Playfair said the number of violent incidents in and around colleges is low, but “even one is too many”.

He told FE Week that colleges had implemented a “range of security measures and educational responses”, which is part of the “wider duty to safeguard young people in schools and colleges and is often focused on helping students to identify risks and keep themselves safe beyond the college”.

But he warned the additional staff and training needed to support safety on campus “come at a cost and coincides with the college funding freeze, reductions in youth services and police personnel”.

Victims of a long-running FE loans scandal are set to benefit from new legislation that gives the education secretary powers to clear their debt – representing a huge win for FE Week’s #SaveOurAdultEducation campaign.

From July 1, 2019 the government will be able to cancel all or part of an advanced learner loan for learners left in debt when their provider goes bust.

FE Week has revealed horror stories involving hundreds of students suffering from such circumstances since early 2017. Many of them, who were training to be, for example, carpenters or chefs, were left with debts amounting to thousands of pounds but no qualification when providers such as John Frank Training and Edudo suddenly went out of business.

After more than two years of stress and worry, this is great news

The government refused to write off their loans, even if the learners couldn’t move on to other providers.

It sparked the launch of #SaveOurAdultEducation which demanded justice for those affected and has now been hailed as a success by Robert Halfon, who was skills minister at the time and is now education select committee chair.

“I’m delighted that students with advanced learner loans will no longer need to be penalised for the actions of bust training providers when suitable alternatives are not available for them,” he said.

“This was something I pushed for as a minister and campaigned for alongside FE Week. I really welcome the hard work of Anne Milton and Damian Hinds in making it happen.”

After our campaign’s launch, the Student Loans Company deferred repayments for the affected learners, but as FE Week has previously reported, money has still been taken out of their accounts in repayments.

The provider central to the scandal was John Frank Training. The London-based firm went into liquidation on November 30, 2016, leaving no assets, despite recording a profit of £1.3 million in the first half of 2016. Around 500 learners were affected.

The situation resulted in the Education and Skills Funding Agency reviewing its audit framework for loans-only providers and changes were made, including the banning of subcontracting for these providers.

The ESFA did not report John Frank to the police because no fraud was identified as part of the original investigation.

Asim Shaheen was among the ex-learners at the provider. The trainee chef still had an outstanding debt of £8,000, plus interest, when the firm collapsed and could not find another provider with whom to complete his training.

After being told the news of incoming legislation to protect learners, Asim told FE Week: “After more than two years of stress and worry, this is great news and I now expect the government to cancel my loan in full at the first opportunity.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “In a very few cases, a small number of students with advanced learner loans are unable to complete their course as a result of provider failure. Our priority in these cases is to ensure those students have the opportunity to continue their studies elsewhere.

“However, we recognise that this is not always possible. In recognition of this we have introduced new legislation to allow the Secretary of State to consider cancelling all or part of an advanced learner loan in such circumstances.”

Skills minister Anne Milton told FE Week: “At the heart of everything we do is the interests of students and learners.”

A spokesperson for the Student Loans Company confirmed repayments for learners affected by the liquidation of John Frank Training “have been deferred for a further year until April 2020”.

Shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden was a firm supporter of #SaveOurAdultEducation and hosted its launch event in Parliament. He also put in numerous written questions to pressure the DfE into action.

“It’s welcome news that finally two years on, the Secretary of State is taking steps to find a solution for the many learners affected by the collapse of their training providers – left with huge debts and no qualifications through no fault of their own,” he said.

“It’s disappointing that these learners have been left with the stress and worry of having these repayments hanging over them for so long, without adequate solutions coming forward from the department or the ESFA.

“That is why it is vital that Damian Hinds follows through urgently on this new legislation and writes off their debt to finally end the nightmare for these learners.”

PICTURED: Asim Shaheen confronts then skills minister Robert Halfon at the #SaveOurAdultEducation launch